


we are infinite.

by hypegirl



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Banter, Crack and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Friendship/Love, Huening Kai-Centric, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sci Fi Elements, Suburbia, Summary subject to change, Summer, Teen Romance, Time Loop, Unrequited Love, Why Did I Write This?, kind of a mess, young adult novel type beat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29664777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypegirl/pseuds/hypegirl
Summary: "This could be the answer, can't you see? We could finally escape this one stupid day and move on with our lives. Don't you want that?"No, Kai wants to say.No. I kind of want to spend the rest of my life in this moment with you."Yes," He replies, smiling warmly. "Let's go back to the real world."
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Yeonjun/Huening Kai, Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 40
Kudos: 34





	1. another day

**Author's Note:**

> hi !!  
> okay so idk why i'm doing this i have a shit ton of work but i am... here...  
> also i haven't even processed that aipd (a diff longfic i wrote) is finished so its probably not a great time to start this but i'm super excited about this idea so yeah~  
> also this is my first work for txt!! hi moas!!!!  
> uhh if i knew little about bts i know even less about txt so some of this shit may be outta character. i really just had the idea and ran w/ it.  
> okay basically what this is is a crossover of a map of tiny perfect things, and bts hyyh w/ some inspiration from the perks of being a wallflower (a mess, right? a fun mess).  
> i dont think there should be many tw's but i'll indicate them if need be.  
> okay. there'll be no regular update schedule if you're someone who's interested, and chapter lengths may vary a lot, but hey. this one's just for my own enjoyment, yk?  
> i think that's all wAIT I HAVE A [PLAYLIST!!](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4kfXpIoo4TV8c3t6FOknFa?si=01hqsfhmR5Cr8sgbr_548Q)  
> okay that's all <3 enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s a short depiction/vague mention of attempted suicide in this ch.. stay safe!

Kai stands on the roof of his house. 

It’s 11:59 PM. The night is chilly in the way characteristic of summer; a periodical breeze blows by, ruffling Kai’s hair and interfering with his precarious balance. 

He lifts his arm shakily upwards, watching the thinnest arm on his watch tick steadily around the face. 

Kai lifts his gaze for a moment, up to the neat row of houses opposite his, sparse lights lighting up little sections of grass. The dark trees behind them provide a gently shaking backdrop. 

He looks back down to the watch. 57 seconds, 58, 59–

Kai jumps. 

He falls through the air only for a moment before landing, hard, on his bed. 

In his room. 

Sun is streaming through the closed blinds, and Kai feels a sudden grogginess overtake him. 

The alarm clock on his nightstand reads 8:46 AM. 

He sighs. 

It’s time to start the day. 

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

Here’s how it usually goes. 

Kai gets out of the house at 9:21 AM, skateboard tucked under his arm. The streets are busy already, what with it being the pleasant summer Saturday that it is. 

(High of 74°F. Low of 68. 19% precipitation. Partly cloudy.) 

He skates down the sidewalk, hopping off to loop between cars moving slowly in traffic. He reaches into the window of a pale blue car, plucking the cell phone out of the driver’s hand and tossing it into the backseat with a barely-apologetic smile. 

Kai skates on. At 9:37, he waves at the group of girls walking on the opposite side of the street. He smiles coolly as they wave back, giggling. 

He tosses a fresh shirt prematurely at a man seconds away from spilling his iced coffee down his front. 

Then, Kai takes a turn into a familiar one-street neighborhood and wonders what it is he’s going to do today. 

Dropping his skateboard in the grass, Kai climbs up a tree and hops unceremoniously through his best friend’s open bedroom window. 

And crashes right into him. 

“Ah, what the fuck?” Jeongin screeches, colliding with the lamp on his nightstand and rolling onto the floor. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry--I do this every day, my god.” 

“No, you don’t.” Jeongin remains face down on the floor of his bedroom. “This is the first time it’s happened, actually.” 

Jeongin says that every day. 

You’d expect Kai’s aim to be a bit better after launching himself through that window 39 times, but alas. 

He offers Jeongin a hand. “I’m sorry anyway.” 

“Don’t worry about it. Hey, why are you here? Do you have any news for me?” 

“No, I never do.” Kai purses his lips. “And even if I did, you’d just forget by tomorrow.” 

“What?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Are you questioning my memory?” Jeongin asks with an unamused raise of his eyebrow. 

“Well,” Kai quips, “You did forget your age last week.” 

“In my defense, I honestly think I got stuck at the age of 12.” 

“Traumatic experience?” 

“Nope. I just can’t believe I turned out like this.” 

Kai laughs. “You’re not doing that badly right now, man. Plus, next year’s a--”

“Don’t say it,” Jeongin groans.

“--Fresh start. You can do better! I believe in you!” 

Jeongin flops back onto his bed. “Great. Thanks.” 

“I know it doesn’t mean all that much to you,” Kai rambles on for what must be the hundredth time, “But I promise, you’ll be able to... I don’t know, get better grades, stop procrastinating, maybe ask that kid in your Econ class out. You know, all that good stuff.” 

“Then why haven't I done it already?” 

“Because you aren’t trying, genius.” 

Jeongin looks at him. “The worst part is that you’re not even wrong.” 

Kai shrugs. “Wouldn’t have said it if I thought I was wrong. Either way, we’ve still got a while until school starts up again, so it doesn’t really matter.” 

“It feels like summer’s been going on forever and it’s only been, like, five days.” 

Well. 44 days, by Kai’s count. “You have no idea.”

Jeongin tilts his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Maybe Kai shouldn’t have pushed the conversation in this direction. The explaining is starting to exhaust him. 

“If I tell you, you won’t believe me.” 

He knows this for a fact. 

“Eh, you’re probably right. Tell me anyway.” 

Kai sighs through a smile. “Okay. It’s kind of hard to explain, I mean--I would compare it to _Groundhog Day_ but you’ve never seen _Groundhog Day_.”

“How’d you know that?” 

He ignores this. “Here’s the deal. The same day is just, like, repeating over and over. I’m stuck in a time loop.” 

Jeongin looks unconvinced. “You feeling alright?” 

“I told you you wouldn’t believe me. You never do, every time we have this conversation.”

“Which is… how many times?” 

“This one? 27. But I’ve been through today 39 times.” 

“Shit,” Jeongin says quietly. “Why?”

“No clue.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.” 

They’re quiet for a moment. 

“Kai,” Jeongin starts, “D’you know how many crimes you could commit if you were actually stuck in the same day for that long? There’d be… There’d be no consequences for anything so long as you avoid getting caught before--wait, when would it reset?”

“Midnight. At 12:00 AM sharp, it goes back to 8:46 AM,” Kai replies. He’s not unaware of how Jeongin’s speaking in a theoretical manner, but then again, they’ve never quite gotten this far in the conversation. He’ll take what he can get. 

“Cinderella type beat,” Jeongin deadpans. “Spicy. I’d still commit some crimes.” 

“Such as?”

“Murder?” 

“You’re afraid of killing mosquitoes.” Kai says cautiously.

“That’s because I have no motive for killing mosquitoes. I don’t hold grudges against mosquitos, at least no grudges worth murdering them over. People, however… People have wronged me.” 

This is a monologue Kai hasn’t heard before. He watches in silence, amused. 

“Wouldn’t you want to kill someone if you had the chance, Kai? Y’know, just for fun?”

“I think you might be missing something.”

“What?”

“When the day resets, they’ll come back to life. It won’t last, man.” 

“Fuck,” Jeongin breathes. “Have you tried?” 

He’s bouncing between treating the situation as a fantasy-type deal and a real-life thing. 

Again, Kai will take what he can get. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

“Who?!”

“Myself,” Kai gives him a flat look. 

“Oh. _Oh_.” Realization dawns quickly on Jeongin’s face. “Do we need to talk, man?”

“No, not like that! I just did it to… see what would happen.”

“And you survived?”

“Obviously.” 

“This is so weird.” Jeongin says, bewildered. “Don’t you remember that one book we had to read in middle school? The one where the kid gets stuck on her birthday or something?”

Kai grimaces. “I don’t like to remember _anything_ from middle school.”

Jeongin points to his temple. “Stuck at age 12, remember?” He exhales heavily. “Wasn’t that girl trapped in that day with another kid or something?”

“Which girl?” 

“The one in the book.”

“Oh.” Kai furrows his brow. “Can’t remember.” 

“Yeah, there was a different kid in there for sure. Are you, you know, alone?” 

“How do you mean?”

Jeongin sighs, exasperated. “Are you the only one stuck in this time loop thing?”

Kai hasn’t quite thought of it before. He shrugs again. “I guess.” 

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

The time is 3:02 PM when Kai climbs back out of Jeongin’s window. 

As always, he has no other plans for the day.

There’s not much to do in this little suburban town, but Kai likes it anyways. It’s not like he’s much of a thrill-seeker--or an anything-seeker, for that matter. 

He’s just himself. Kai Kamal Huening. 

In all honesty, he’d barely noticed when the loop started. It was only that the date hadn’t changed and that some of the things Kai saw and heard were a little too familiar. 

He doesn’t hate the loop, not at all. He barely wonders why it might have happened, why it’s only _him_ of all people stuck in it.

Kai just might be running out of things to do. His parents are at work, and most of his friends (save for dear, sweet Jeongin) are on vacation.

He skates down the sidewalk again, this time along a street he doesn’t know all that well. 

(It’s interesting how Kai’s lived in this town nearly all his life and there are still streets he doesn’t know. Such is what happens when you just don’t pay attention.)

Like in the morning, cars linger in the lanes in their neat little rows. They aren’t even crawling along. They’re just stationary, the traffic light so far in the distance a burning red. 

Kai stops short, kicking his board up and catching the edge in his hand. He just stands on the sidewalk for a while, watching. 

It’s like a painting, really. Completely unmoving under the washed out blue sky. 

As per usual, a stronger breeze blows past, whipping Kai’s hair out of his face. 

That’s about when he notices. 

It’s just a pink blur in the distance, at first. Darting between the stilled cars and sliding smoothly over their shining hoods. 

Kai squints. It’s a person. Clad in pink, with a bouquet of pink roses held close to their chest. Long pink hair is tucked haphazardly under a black visor. 

_What?_

As the figure comes closer, Kai sees that they’re really passing out flowers to everyone in the cars. Sticking the roses into open windows, smile not wavering under the unforgiving sun. 

His confusion is only augmented by the sight. 

The person continues on their way, a vibrant splash of color looping so easily between the cars. 

Only when Kai hears their voice does he realize how long he’s been staring. 

“No, I’m not selling them,” They say, voice softer and sunnier than that in the sky. “Just… consider it a present. From me to you.” 

And then they hand a rose to the driver of the car and look up.

Kai, caught off guard, doesn’t look away in time. They lock eyes for a moment before Kai blinks and shifts his gaze. 

He takes great interest in the tan concrete of the sidewalk below him. Kai should probably go now, it’s obvious that he’s been staring--

“Hey,” He hears, and suddenly the person is standing right next to him, so close that Kai jumps back. 

He can’t see their eyes from underneath the dark visor, but Kai notices the wide smile spreading across their lips. 

“I have two left,” they say, extending one out to Kai. “Want one?” 

“S-sure.” He replies shakily, moving to take it from the person’s hand with the speed of a sloth. Kai eyes the rose in their other hand. “Who’s that one for?” 

“Oh.” The person whips off the visor, shaking out their bubblegum-colored hair. They break most of the stem off the rose and tucks the flower behind their ear. “This one’s for me.” 

Kai can’t help but smile, still caught off guard. “Who _are_ you?” He blurts. 

“Me? Choi Yeonjun.” They stick out their hand for a handshake that Kai is a bit too stunned to deliver. “He/him if you ever need to refer to me. Not that you… will. I mean, you shouldn’t have to.” Yeonjun laughs uncertainly. “Sorry about that. I’m not usually this awkward, I’ve just… never seen you here before. Don’t think you usually come here. I mean today. You haven’t come here… today… before.” 

Kai opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. 

Yeonjun sighs. “Yeah, sorry about that.” He breaks into a hesitant smile. “Well, no matter. You’ll forget all this ever happened by tomorrow anyway.” 

And then he walks off. 


	2. not alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i'm being honest i'm sorta bouncing back to my writing style from a while back for this fic. i like the really short chapters. feels summery. friend of mine said it's thought-provoking. when we get into more plotty shit the chapters will prolly lengthen but this feels nice lol
> 
> tw for a brief mention of blood

The next today, Kai flings himself through Jeongin’s window 16 minutes early. 

“What the fuck?!” Jeongin screeches as Kai sails clear over him and rolls onto the floor, talking the lamp with him. 

“Jeongin,” Kai starts, popping back up as though nothing happened. His vision is ever so slightly blurry. “I think I found someone else.” 

“Someone else who?” 

“Fuck, right. Okay. I’m stuck in a time loop and this is the 40th time I’m living today and I can’t get out. But I think I’ve found someone else who’s stuck in it with me.” He pauses here to breathe. 

A beat passes.

Jeongin looks at him blankly. “What?” 

“I’m not alone, Jeongin, don’t you see?” Kai continues giddily. “Someone else is stuck in today too.” 

“Kai, I—“ He breaks off and sighs. “You lost me with the time loop stuff. But are they, I mean—whoever you’re talking about. Are they cute?” 

“That’s what’s important to you?” 

“Uh… yes? Kai, you get, like, no bitches.” 

Kai just stares at him, feeling the adrenaline drain from his body. “Are you serious right now?” 

“Listen, man.” Jeongin lifts both his hands as though explaining a grand discovery. “If you’re stuck with another kid under any circumstances whatsoever, I’m going to automatically assume that the universe is tryin’ to push you two together.” 

“Please. Don’t do this to me.” 

“‘M just saying. Who are we talking about anyways?” 

Fuck it, Kai decides. Jeongin’s going to forget this all in a matter of a few hours anyway. “You know anyone named Choi Yeonjun?” 

At this, Jeongin perks up slightly. “You don’t?” 

“No?” 

“We’re talking about the senior with the yellow hair, right?” 

“It might be pink now.” 

“Of course. His ass is walking around looking like a fucking highlighter either way.” 

Kai raises an eyebrow. “Whatever, man. I just think I might be stuck with him.” 

Jeongin shrugs. “Well, from what I’ve heard, there are worse people to be stuck with.” 

“Hmm.” 

Neither of them speak for a long minute. 

“Kai,” Jeongin starts again, eyes widening steadily, “D’you know how many crimes you could commit if you were trapped in a time loop?” 

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

Leaving Jeongin’s house at 3:14 PM this time, Kai tries desperately to remember how he’d gotten to that street the previous day. 

He makes a few turns blindly, hoping his feet might remember the way. 

It becomes clear soon enough that his feet have decided to take after everyone else in town. They’ve forgotten everything from before. 

And Kai is quickly, hopelessly lost.

He smiles to himself. He’s screwed. 

If Jeongin was right, and the universe really is trying to push him and Yeonjun together, why’s it so hard to find him? 

A few random turns later, Kai ends up in front of his own house. He sighs, turning around to face away from it and look out to the main road. 

He turns right and continues on.

When the time comes, he turns right again. And again, and again, until his search for Yeonjun feels futile--and quite honestly, a little creepy. 

Kai’s moments away from giving up, skating down the sidewalk off of nothing but pure momentum, and then he collides with a flash of pink. 

His board slips out from under him and the pair of them fall back against the concrete. 

Kai attempts to move away as quickly as possible, but they are a tangle of limbs that too easily rolls into the street into oncoming traffic. 

The car coming is a deep red, Kai notices, preoccupied.

Well, he can’t die anyway. 

Can he? Kai’s only ever tested it out at midnight.

The person under him quickly untangles the two of them and pulls Kai back to the sidewalk. The car speeds past, and Kai, disoriented, steps back onto his skateboard. 

His foot lands too close to its edge, and he falls forward again. 

A familiar figure, sans black visor, reaches down to him and pulls him off the ground. “Well, that hasn’t happened before,” He laughs breathlessly. “You alright?” 

“Yeah, fine.” Kai’s heart is going a mile a minute and he thinks his ankle might be bleeding. It’s a very nice feeling. “You?” 

“Yeah. I’m… sorry about that.” 

“Oh, no, it was completely my fault. I should have looked where I was going, I—” Kai stops short. Wheels begin to turn in his brain a little too late. “Choi Yeonjun?” 

Yeonjun’s smile falters. “What?” 

“You’re Choi Yeonjun. You gave me a flower yesterday. I mean, today.” 

“You’re—” Yeonjun’s eyebrows shoot up in recognition. “Wait, you’re not supposed to remember that.” 

Shocked, Kai laughs. “You’re stuck in it too! Aren’t you? In the loop!” 

“Oh my god, no way. I—I thought I was alone!” 

“Me too, I—wow,” Kai replies eloquently. 

“Wow.” Yeonjun’s surprised smile could rival the mid-June sun beating down. 

Today’s leftover pink rose has dislodged itself from behind Yeonjun’s ear, knotted in his neon hair and dangling in front of his face. Before he can think the better of it, Kai reaches up and tucks it back in place. 

“I’m Kai, by the way,” He says quietly.

Yeonjun doesn’t seem to hear it. “What?”

“My name. It’s Huening Kai.” 

“Oh. I’m Choi Yeonjun.” 

“I know, Choi Yeonjun.” 

“... Right.” Yeonjun shoots Kai a pair of weak finger guns. “Just making sure.”

The silence is getting awkward, and quickly. Cars pass by in the opposite direction, sending light breezes that ruffle Yeonjun’s hair as he stares forward with a frozen expression, bordering on mortified. 

“Hey, I hate saying this, but do you maybe want to give me your number?” Kai asks, to break the silence more than anything. “I mean, it might be better to be stuck in this… when you’re… not alone.” 

The regret only hits when Yeonjun turns to him, confused. 

“Will it stay in your phone after midnight?” 

They share a blank look. 

“Here’s hoping, I guess.” 

The pair of them exchange numbers (and too much other random personal information for two people just meeting), and just as quickly, they go back to staring silently at each other.

“I’m sorry, man,” Yeonjun says after what appears to be an extended period of deliberation. 

Kai squints. “Why? I already said it was my fault—-”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just sorry that you’re stuck in this loop too.” 

“It’s not like you were the one who started it and dragged me in. Right?” 

“That’s true, it’s just…” Yeonjun sighs. Kai can already tell that he’s not all that great with words. “You at least deserve better company. I can’t imagine I’m much fun.” 

“Are you serious?” Kai looks at him skeptically, leaning back against the brick wall of the shop by their place on the sidewalk. “You give roses to people stuck in traffic and look like a My Little Pony threw up on you. I bet you’re plenty fun.”

“You’re just saying that to appease me.” 

“Am not.” 

“Are too.” 

“Am not.”

“Are—-”

“Dude,” Kai sighs, furrowing his brow. “You got some kind of insecurity about this or something?” 

Yeonjun’s mouth falls open. “You’re harsh for a 16 year old.” 

“As if you weren’t 16 just two years ago.” Kai refrains from saying that Yeonjun acts like he’s even younger. 

“Y’know what, that’s fair. We should probably be equals if we’re gonna be trapped in a day together.” 

“I see no flaws in your logic.” Kai sticks out a hand for Yeonjun to shake. 

Yeonjun accepts it. “So, Huening Kai,” He starts with a smile. “What would you do with unlimited time?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so it begins (for real this time)


	3. rose-colored boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!  
> sorry for disappearing, lots is... lots is happening rn. yes, uh... yes. i tried to write some because this fic really does make me happy, but again, it was a lot to juggle.  
> it was my birthday a bit ago tho so that was nice i guess  
> anyways yes! hopefully this fluffy ch is to ur satisfaction :D  
> (pls feel free to point out typos i Had To Go Fast TM)  
> a quick cw for a mention of needles  
> and thats it! enjoy!

On the 51th instance of that fateful day, Kai wakes up at 9:07 AM sharp to the sound of someone whistling outside his window. 

Groaning, he chucks a pillow in the general direction of the sound. There’s a crashing noise. 

“Ooh. That didn’t sound good.” 

“Go away, Yeonjun. Lemme sleep.” 

Silence. 

“I climb up a fucking tree in the name of punctuality, and this is how you treat me?” 

Kai only hums, rubbing his eyes and straightening up. “Oh wow. You really did climb a tree.” 

Yeonjun shrugs from his place on the branch that always hits Kai’s window in the night. “I was considering throwing pebbles at you for good measure.”

“Thank you for not doing that,” Kai replies, moving to push the window up a little further. “Is this payback for stealing your car the other day?” 

“Maybe.” 

“You should have just let me take it, man. I wouldn’t have crashed it, and even if I did—“

“That, my friend, is not a risk I am willing to take,” Yeonjun says, punctuating each syllable with an accusatory finger point. 

“You saying you don’t trust me?” 

“Spot on, Huening.”

“After everything we’ve been through?” 

“In my defense, we’ve only known each other a day.” Yeonjun smiles sweetly. 

Kai glares at him. “I will push you out of the tree.” 

At this, Yeonjun grabs hold of the branch protectively. “Please don’t, I don’t want to have to wait another 15 hours to respawn.” 

“That’s fair.” 

Kai stands, trying to blink the last of his 9 minutes of sleep from his eyes. 

“Kai,” Yeonjun hisses not a minute later. “How do I get down?” 

Laughing, Kai moves to pull Yeonjun in. 

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

“Are your parents here?” Yeonjun asks, leaning back against the kitchen counter. A window behind him leaks golden light, framing his face with a sunny glow. 

Kai shrugs, not looking up from his cereal. “No, they’re at work.”

“You have any siblings?” 

“Nope.”

“Holy shit,” Yeonjun’s eyes go wide. “So you’ve just been completely alone this whole time?” 

Kai shrugs again. “Well, I have a friend who I used to visit every day. I had to explain the loop to him each time, though.” 

Yeonjun looks at him like he’s crazy. 

“And, I mean, I’ve had the great pleasure of spending every second of the past--what--10 days with you.” 

“Ah, there is that.” 

Kai kind of feels like more has happened in those past 10 days in his 16 years of existence before that. Maybe too much happened. 

They became fast friends, him and Yeonjun. It felt something like being the last two people on Earth in the apocalypse. 

Or something along those lines. 

(“Yeonjun,” Kai’d asked not three days ago, “Do you think there’s a reason behind all this?” 

They had gotten ice cream and were sitting on the curb, like Kai had only seen in movies. 

The asphalt was burning under the midday sun. Mint ice cream melted and ran down their hands, sweet and sticky. 

“What d’you mean? Like, a reason for the entire loop?” 

“Something like that.” 

Yeonjun had paused to take a bite out of his waffle cone and stare pensively out into the road. Cars never drove by there at that time. 

“I guess there must be. Shit doesn’t just happen out of nowhere.” 

“Right,” Kai’d replied quietly. That wasn’t the question he’d meant to ask. “Do you have any idea why it’s just the two of us?” 

At this, Yeonjun turned and looked at him quizzically. They’d been sitting too close, shoulders pressed together. Kai had to lean away. 

“Why?” He’d asked, his tone playful. “Do you think the universe was trying to get us to meet?” 

Kai scowled, defensive. “No, nothing like that. I just wonder what you think.” 

Yeonjun only shrugged, giving him a half smile. “I think the reason is whatever we want it to be. It’s not like we’re getting a logical explanation for this anytime soon.” 

“True.” 

Kai’s feelings were mixed and indecipherable, even more so when he realized that Yeonjun’s gaze hadn’t felt his face even when he’d turned away. 

“What?” 

Yeonjun’s thumb had come up to wipe at a smudge of chocolate at the corner of Kai’s lip. Kai swatted his hand away. “Ew.” 

“Chill. You’re like my little brother now,” Yeonjun had replied sunnily. 

Kai dropped his arm and looked away. “Ah,” he’d said blankly. 

And then he’d looked back, brow raised in question. 

Yeonjun’s side profile was all sharp angles, brow furrowed and skin glistening under the unforgiving sun. His pink hair was tied haphazardly, stray strands falling into his face. “Why,” He’d asked, not turning to look at Kai. “Did I say something wrong?” 

“No,” Kai cleared his throat, looking away. “No, you’re fine.”) 

Kai had an unchanging schedule before Yeonjun came along. A sense of consistency between each iteration of the day. 

Now every second is something new. They’ve screamed from rooftops and snuck into movies and ran through the streets after sundown.

Oh, and shoplifted. That had been something. 

It was a pair of earrings--silver, four-pointed stars--and a box of chocolate. 

(“I don’t even have my ears pierced, man.” 

Yeonjun had swatted at him, and Kai could see the golden-foil covered box tucked under his other arm. “Just take them. Nothing’s gonna happen.” 

“Is this your way of trying to prove to me that you’re fun?” 

“Can you just take them before someone gets suspicious?”

Kai eyed the box. “What’s that?” 

“This?” Yeonjun lifted the box up, the carefully wrapped ribbon that had once served to hold it closed dangling sadly off the corner. “If you really think I’m paying $79.95 for mystery chocolate, you’re sadly mistaken.” 

Jaw dropping, Kai placed the little blue velvet earring box back on the display. “Is that what this is? You just wanted a companion for your crimes?” 

“Why—”

“What if we go to jail, man?” 

“We’re not going to jail!”

“But what if we do?!” 

They’d fallen into a sudden silence, shitty muffled pop playing through the department store speakers serving as the only background noise. 

Yeonjun gulped. “We’ll... get out at 11:59?” 

Kai let out a squeak. “My ears aren’t even pierced,” He’d repeated mournfully, picking the earrings up again. 

“Fuck you, I’ll pierce them.” 

“I’d rather go to jail.” 

“Then go to jail.” 

Ridiculously, Kai’d taken him seriously. “You would do that to me?” 

Yeonjun raised an eyebrow. He’d looked so coordinated even then, holding onto a beat up chocolate box like it was his lifeline and shooting a disbelieving expression from across a department store aisle. Not a single rose-colored hair was out of place, not an ounce of apprehension on his face. “You really think I would?” 

“Would you?” 

“No, you fuckhead. Are you just going to stand there, or what? We only have, like, 15 hours each day.” 

“This is peer pressure. I am being peer pressured into committing a crime.” 

“You’re obviously not being peer pressured well enough,” Yeonjun scoffed. 

Not long after, a smile had flickered onto his face. Before Kai could protest, he was being dragged out of the store.

“So,” Kai’d said dully into the cool night, a tiny box sitting in the center of his palm, “Does this make us partners in crime?”

“Shut up.” 

“O-kay.” 

So, they’d eaten all the chocolates in the 64 piece box and Yeonjun went ahead and stabbed Kai's earlobe with a needle like he’d seen in _The Parent Trap_. They’d both screamed--Yeonjun first, and then Kai. 

Kai woke up alone with a fully intact ear and no velvet box of silver stars.)

It had been an unimaginably long, strangely serene ten days, Kai decides. 

“So,” Yeonjun starts after a moment, “What should we do today?” 

Kai wrinkles his nose. He wishes Yeonjun would move out of the sun, it’s annoying to keep squinting at him. “It’s better when you don’t ask that.” 

“We always end up nearly arrested or nearly dead when I don’t ask that.” 

“Exactly. It’s much better.” 

Yeonjun laughs, drumming his fingers against the stone of the counter. “Do you not get tired of all this? You only get an hour of sleep, tops, every night--well, ‘night’.”

“No,” Kai shrugs. “But I suppose old people get tired more easily.” 

“I’m never driving you anywhere ever again,” Yeonjun mutters, narrowing his eyes. 

“Fine. Don’t.” 

“Fine. I won’t.” 

Kai smiles innocently. “I’ll just take your car--”

The drumming stops abruptly. “Kai!”

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

It’s been too long since Kai’d last flown into Jeongin’s room, but he can’t imagine Jeongin had ever cared much. Or really noticed. 

Today, he kicks Jeongin on the way in and they both go crashing into the far wall. 

“What the fuck?!” 

“Jeongin,” Kai starts, slightly too dazed to scramble up from the floor. He wonders if he’s hit his head. He’s definitely hit his head. “I’m so happy, Jeongin.” 

“Why?” 

“I think I might be falling in love.”

And for the first time, (dear, sweet) Jeongin believes Kai unconditionally. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading! i'll be back, see u guys!


	4. i fall in love too easily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay. 
> 
> my grammar is out the window and my imagery is nonexistent and my writing is really choppy, but i love it. you probably don't want to hear about how much i enjoy this fic, but i really do like it a lot. i did a lot of poetic, heart-wrenching, overly descriptive bs in my last fic so its just different. 
> 
> this chapter is a bit longer and quite cheesy, but hey--we're getting into plot!! it's starting for real this time!! 
> 
> right, enjoy!

“What’s this?” 

The girl looks up at Kai in question, squinting at the sun shining behind him. A sun-tanned arm dangles out of her open window, careful not the brush against the glinting, burning hot metal of the outside of her car. 

She can’t be that much older than Kai. He gulps, cheeks burning red. “A rose?” 

A thorn digs into the pad of his thumb as he hesitantly extends the flower out to her.

“But why?” 

Some ballad song streams out from the car’s radio, sweet like honey and thickening the midsummer air impossibly further. 

“It’s a gift. I think,” Kai replies intelligently. 

Another girl in the passenger seat smacks her lightly on the arm and says something Kai can’t hear. 

He wants to leave. 

The girl’s small hand wraps around the stem of the flower, and she mutters a “thank you.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Wait, can I get one more? She wants one.” 

The other girl smacks her arm again, this time a bit harder. 

Kai cracks a small smile. “Sure,” He says, and hands her another before making his escape.

He travels between cars, the bouquet he holds close to his chest lessening in size with each unnecessarily embarrassing encounter. 

The sun is sinking slowly from its highest point, warmth streaming down as usual. The sky is soft and blue. 

It’s a sight Kai has grown used to. 

He can’t quite say it’s a nice day, or that it’s pleasant outside, because that’s all a given at this point. It’s always sunny and warm. Always today. 

And so Kai focuses on the only thing that ever changes. 

Yeonjun isn’t too far, wearing his unrelenting smile. He’s in a pink sweatshirt, today, sleeves cropped up to his shoulders. His hair is fully down, some flattened against the nape of his neck in the heat.

Kai approaches Yeonjun, trying not to seem like the hyperactive puppy he’s becoming around him. 

He fails. 

“Hey,” Yeonjun says to the sound of a car window rolling back up. 

“Hey.” He smiles. “God, it’s hot. The things I do for you,” Kai says as a preoccupied aside, which is quite ineffective considering that Yeonjun’s looking right at him. 

Yeonjun presses his lips together. “Probably shouldn’t have dragged you out here, huh?” 

“No, it’s alright. I mean, if it makes you happy.” 

Kai will learn how to chill. It’ll just take some time. 

(But what he said is true. Kai’d do whatever he wanted.

It might just be the Choi Yeonjun Effect, but Kai thinks it’s something else entirely.) 

By 3:52, they’re out of the traffic jam. Kai picks his skateboard back up off the sidewalk, and Yeonjun tucks a rosebud behind his ear. 

“We match now!” He says, and loops his arm through Kai’s. 

Yeonjun’s smile is simultaneously gentle and mischievous, like that of a child. 

Kai’s getting used to seeing it, very slowly. It never loses its novelty.

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

Not two hours later, Kai’s passed out on his kitchen floor. 

The night before the loop started, Kai had gotten to sleep at about 4 AM. The lack of sleep is starting to catch up to him. 

And, well, the kitchen tile is a good conductor of cold. 

( _ Conductor of cold _ . The lack of school is starting to catch up to him too.) 

He’s not fully asleep quite yet. He’s just doing that thing where his eyelids are sealed shut, but his mind is still working far too fast to allow him any rest. 

A soft song with crisp, pleasant vocals streams from somewhere. Yeonjun’s hatred of silence is all too evident. 

Soon enough, the song fades out to nothing in Kai’s ears and he falls into a dreamless sleep. 

He remembers reading somewhere that you always dream when you’re asleep. You just don’t remember anything when he wakes up. 

It’s a nice thought, that sometimes you dream with any memory of it afterward. It’s like doing something spontaneous and stupid, experiencing a moment that you’ll never be able to relive. 

Spontaneity is also something Kai’s learning. Slowly. 

Kai wakes not 10 minutes later to the sound of alarmingly loud footfalls down the stairs. He can't quite be bothered to move or even to look up, still groggy and chasing the last bits of sleep. 

They escape him too quickly, and his eyes slowly adapt once more to the barely sunlit kitchen. 

Yeonjun skids through the doorway, face illuminated by the light of his phone. He slides across the tile in his socks for about a foot before crashing into the counter and collapsing on the floor right by Kai.

"What?" Kai asks, still slightly disoriented. "Everything okay?" 

The phone is shoved into Kai's face. Even with the screen on dark mode, the light is blinding. "Look," Yeonjun replies breathlessly. 

Kai pushes his hand away, groaning. "I just woke up, lemme--"

"Now why would you sleep on the kitchen floor?"

"It's too hot." 

"It's always hot. Maybe the loop should have started in winter."

Kai lets his head hit the floor. "Please, no. That would be even worse." 

Instead of replying, Yeonjun just places his phone in Kai's hand and repeats, "Look." 

Straightening up to a sitting position, Kai lifts the phone up. It's still slightly blurry, but Kai can make out the distinctive orange logo in the corner. 

He raises an eyebrow and looks at Yeonjun. "You're a Redditor?" 

"Everyone's a Redditor, Kai. Just read the thing." 

And so Kai squints for a moment longer. 

_ r/glitchinthematrix _ , it reads across the top. 

_ posted by kthyyh0205 - 2h _

**_Is anyone experiencing some kind of temporal anomaly?_ **

_ Look, I'm well aware this isn't the right subreddit for this kind of shit but I honestly don't really care. I think I'm stuck in a time loop. The same fucking day (Saturday, June 15, 20xx) has been repeating and I think I might be the only one who remembers each iteration. I don't think I'm insane or hallucinating or anything but it's kind of weird and I'm kind of put off by it because--goddamn, this is the 55th time I'm living today and I'm still fucking alone.  _

_ If anyone knows what I'm talking about, please just DM me or something. It's probably a bad idea to give out my Instagram handle like this but, hey, I'm on private. I'm @/kng_thyunn.  _

_ This post is going to disappear at midnight and it's likely that you won't even see it now unless you spent a good amount of time scrolling through this subreddit today. I mean, the first time today happened.  _

_ And if you haven't before, but you're still reading this, congrats. I think you might be stuck in it too.  _

_ Some more info if you need it:  _

_ \- The day resets at exactly 12:00 AM every night--it goes back at 8:46 AM.  _

_ \- You can't kill anyone, nor can you die. You just reset every morning.  _

_ \- No one's behavior changes between each iteration of the day unless you're in the loop/someone who has been influenced by someone in the loop. _

_ No, I don't know what's causing this. No, in hindsight, I don't think it was a good idea to post this in the first place. But this is getting equal parts boring and scary, and I'm not exactly someone who scares easily.  _

Kai looks up from the phone. stunned. "Yeonjun..." He starts. "What does this mean?" 

Yeonjun chews at his lip, not saying anything. There's a mix of anticipation and guilt on his face. 

Kai skims the post again and meets his eyes. "You DM'ed them, didn't you?" 

"Maybe?"

Yeonjun caves before Kai can say anything in response. The disbelief on his face must say enough. "C'mon, Kai, why not?"

"They could... They--" Kai stumbles over his words. "How do we know this isn't some kind of scam and this person isn't actually an occultist or something?" 

"Really?" Yeonjun furrows his brow. "I could have been an occultist and you trusted me as soon as we met. You nearly got both of us run over that time and I still trusted you."

"Why did we even do that?" 

"Because of the  _ experience _ , Kai. We thought we were the only ones living through this, and that gave us something in common. Something really, really important. But we--we might not be alone. We're not the last two left in the apocalypse, or anything weird like that." 

It's meant to be reassuring, Kai knows, but something in Yeonjun's voice rubs him the wrong way. 

"I didn't think it was the  _ apocalypse-- _ " He says, rushing to defend himself. 

But Kai did think they were alone. He did think it was just the two of them, and that was part of what made the day so much better. 

He admits, it had been nice to think that fate left Kai with Yeonjun. 

"This could be the answer, can't you see?" Yeonjun continues regardless, eyes sparkling too suddenly with excitement. He's getting ahead of himself. "We could finally escape this one stupid day and move on with our lives. Don't you want that?"

_ No, _ Kai wants to say, because deep down, he doesn't feel the need to escape any of this.  _ No. I kind of want to spend the rest of my life in this moment with you. _

"Yes," He replies, smiling warmly as best as he can manage. "Let's go back to the real world."

Whatever makes Yeonjun happy. 

☀︎︎☀︎︎☀︎︎

"We need a game plan," Yeonjun says, taking a sip of his chocolate milkshake. He slides his phone across the smooth surface of the plastic diner table to Kai, who sits opposite him in the cherry-red booth. 

It's 11:01. They're cutting it close, but Kai finds reassurance in the fact that they can just pick up wherever they leave off the next morning. 

The night is dark and chilly as always. This diner is most definitely closed, but the colored neon lights inside stream down onto the chessboard floor and through the near-translucent plastic of each table. 

Yeonjun's phone screen is lit up, displaying a short Instagram chat history. Kai just stares blankly at it for a second. 

"They just dropped an address," Yeonjun explains. 

"We are  _ so  _ going to get kidnapped. Or murdered. Or something." 

"Optimism, Kai! If we get killed, we'll just respawn. If we get kidnapped, we'll be back here in the morning. Plus, I don't even know if this is their house or... just another random place, it just--" 

Kai's already in the Google Maps app, plugging the address in. Street View shows him a small, nondescript brick building with a little sign on it. 

"It's a library." Kai says. 

"Why a library?" 

Kai ignores this and topic-hops. "Y'know, this K-T-H person is putting an awful lot of trust in us. It's more likely that we would kidnap them than they would kidnap us." 

Yeonjun shrugs. "That's fair. They must really be alone, huh?" 

"Poor them," Kai says emotionlessly. 

Yeonjun just looks at him for a long second, straight-faced. "Kai, I--I understand that you're a bit against all this, for some reason, but just think of--" 

"I'm not against it!" Kai protests. 

"You--"

"I'm not!" 

"Fine." Yeonjun relents, lifting his hands in surrender. "If you don't want to go, though, you can just tell me. I'm not forcing you, I just thought that you'd be as excited about this as I am."

Kai frowns. "I am... excited, I'm just a little worried too. I don't usually trust people I've never met." 

A beat of thoughtful silence passes. 

"Hmm," Is all Yeonjun says, looking skeptical. 

Kai panics. "You--you're  _ different _ , Yeonjun. It wasn't like this with you." 

"What was it like, then?" 

"What, meeting you?"

"Yes. Meeting me, trusting me. Why was it different?" 

Kai can't say much, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Finally, he says, "I don't know. It just was." 

_ I guess you're just likeable. Too likeable.  _

Yeonjun doesn't say anything, but catches sight of something behind Kai and stares at it. Kai doesn't follow his gaze. 

"What?" 

"Nothing. They just have a jukebox over there. Like, the type you see in movies." 

Kai turns to look. Sure enough, the thing stands in a corner, faded lights running up and down its sides. 

"Your attention span is impressive," he remarks without any bitterness in his tone. 

"I know, right?" A smile is spreading over Yeonjun's face. "D'you know how to work one?"

"Aren't you the older one here?" 

"Doesn't mean I was born in the 50's." Yeonjun reasons. "That would be cool, though. Do you think I could rock a poodle skirt?" 

Kai restricts the mental image from entering his brain. It does anyway. "Sure, why the hell not?"

Yeonjun smiles. "Have I ever thanked you for dealing with my antics? Thank you for dealing with my antics." 

"What's this, all of a sudden?" 

He stands and walks out of Kai's frame of vision. "I'm gonna figure out how to make that thing play." 

(And after four Google searches and a few feeble kicks at the machine, he does.) 

Not too long after, a slightly muffled song starts to play through the empty diner. Kai turns around in his seat to see Yeonjun standing proudly before the jukebox. 

The singer sounds young, his voice clear but plain and unembellished against the soft, smooth jazz instrumental.

Kai gives Yeonjun an impressed look. "Didn't think that would work." 

"You've gotta believe in me, Kai." He stretches his arms out towards Kai from where he stands, gesturing for him to get up and join Yeonjun in the small empty area of checkered floor.

And Kai is Kai, so he does. The tension of a few minutes ago is quickly forgotten. 

They haven’t much time for grudges and worry, Kai supposes. They’ve only got one day. 

The music is the kind of languid, syrupy stuff that usually plays half-covered by din or through muffled speakers; but the both of them are listening with their full attention focused on the song, glazed-over eyes directed at the bright running lights looping over the top of the wooden machine. 

When Yeonjun turns and looks at him, Kai feels it. "What?" He says quietly, heart suddenly speeding in his chest. 

"Wanna dance?" Yeonjun asks unabashedly. 

Kai's eyes go wide. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. It's 11:30-something, we literally broke into this place, and there isn't a single soul in sight out there." He nods to a window across from them. "Why not set it all in?" 

"We're setting this in... rom-com style?" Kai's throat goes dry at the implication. 

"What else do you expect from me, Kai?" Yeonjun offers him a hand. 

Kai takes it. "You know what, that's fair." 

What they end up doing is a lot of awkward, uncoordinated swaying in each other's arms. It's not bad, per se, but Kai's hyper-aware of Yeonjun's hand on his waist and that makes his every movement overly stiff. 

Yeonjun’s smiling, though, a look of serenity in his eyes. It calms Kai down a little. 

This is what he likes. This is what he’d liked for the past two weeks worth of looped days. 

It’s just the two of them in that dimly lit diner at 11:43 PM, just them listening to this soft song, standing so close. 

Kai wishes he had more time to get used to all of this, to how Yeonjun makes him feel--but he knows that by the time the day resets and it’s today morning again, things will start to change. 

Maybe that’s what he’ll have to learn above all else. 

Living in the moment, but accepting what’s to come. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the story progresses! wondering who we'll meet next time... 
> 
> thank you for reading, i'll be back soon!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> here are my [instagram](https://instagram.com/dear.__.dream?igshid=16hz0xg0t0p70) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/rmstzngn)\--feel free to reach out for anything!


End file.
